MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS – A TALE OF TWO DECISIONS AND OCCUPYING WALL STREET

In Woodhaven MI, 39-year old father Shawn Wierner made a decision. Shawn, divorced and a man with a reported drinking problem, went for a drive with his 9-year old daughter. Clarification. He went for a drive with her, he let his daughter do the driving. Stopping for gas slightly before 3 a.m., he told the station clerk that she was his designated driver. Now Wierner has been arrested and is facing charges of child abuse. The debate is on in Michigan as to whether it is indeed child abuse or a dumb decision made by a dad in a difficult situation. Dumb mistake or bad parent? For my money, both. Why you a drunk and on the road with your daughter at this hour is beside me. She, at least, should have been in bed. Given that he doesn’t have custody, why he could he not have chosen not to drink. An intoxicated parent, custodial or not, is neither a wise one or a good one. As a pastor, I watch countless kids who are harmed or whose lives are unnecessarily burdened because a parent is thinking primarily of their own needs, giving actual parenting only the leftovers of their emotion or attention. The courts will decide whether in 21st century America this rises to child abuse.

Denver Broncos coach John Fox finally made a wise decision. He gave the starting quarterback job to Tim Tebow. Tebow is a gifted quarterback and dedicated team player. Trust me, I know. The Tebow-led Florida Gators made life miserable for my beloved Buckeyes. He is also a controversial quarterback. Not because of night club antics, or domestic violence, or team-busting arrogance, or cruelty to animals. He is controversial because he is a man of faith, the Christian faith in particular. Tebow, an evangelical, is unashamed about views that support biblical values. It is something that the dogs of political correctness see as raw meat. Earlier in the season, honored quarterback Joe Montana plainly said that Tebow would fight an uphill battle precisely because of his public faith. As we watched Kyle Orton simply collapse at QB and the once-proud Broncos spiral downward; most of us wonder what took Fox so long. But finally after coming in last week against the Chargers as a replacement, Tebow ran for one TD and threw for another. And the result of his first start this week – Tebow generated touchdowns and a Denver victory.

Occupy Wall Street and similar “occupations’ are in the news and the fuel for many a coffee shop debate these days. (If I decide to get into one of these “occupations”, I’m leaning towards Occupy Wakaki.) Just wondering? If the economy being so bad (and it seems to be bad) it seems odd that people would expend so much money (and require the public safety divisions of these communities to spend so much money) why a contribution to the local rescue mission or homeless shelter, rather than buying these stocks, wouldn’t be a stronger statement of protest.